Expert reviews and ratings

“StarDrive” is squarely in the space-based 4X tradition of MoO and GalCiv. If you have played a game in that genre, you will be immediately familiar with “StarDrive”. It does nothing really new, and does not advance the genre in any important way. It is...

StarDrive is mostly the work of one man. Yet the point about being an impartial reviewer is that you don’t take into consideration the heart- string tugs of human interest, but look at the end product. This game is fun, complex and only going to get better – but the odd mishmash of polish and crudeness mean GalCiv II is still captain of the fleet.

Ever since Master Of Orion, the space-based 4X (refering to explore/expand/exploit/exterminate, if you were wondering) strategy game genre has moved into the realms of the unforgiving learning curve, becoming a niche pursuit of the hardcore gamer....

StarDrive is a poorly constructed clone of Masters of Orion. Behind its nice alien species graphics, there's little more than a collection of bland, samey gameplay regardless of what race you play as, tedious ship customization, and an AI that seems set to galactic griefer mode.

StarDrive is worth considering, but don’t expect a highly-polished product or you’ll be disappointed. There’s a real buzz around the game as fervent fans clamour to give their input but whether this momentum will carry on after release date is another matter. We at The Digital Fix will be watching for sure.

Finally, I ran into my fair share of technical problems, including a couple of crashes, sound cut-outs, and slow-down. That latter problem only showed up once hundreds of ships were active across the largest available galaxy size. Even with its foibles, StarDrive is a rare treat for those with the fortitude to marshal past its rough spots...

But when it comes time to get out there and explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate? You’ve played this before, and it was probably better. If you’re simply looking for a new game to dominate the universe in, StarDrive will serve you well enough, but those looking for a new and novel experience will need to set course for elsewhere.

I got bored with the lack of objectives beyond simple galactic citizenship or bloodthirsty conquest. Beyond the technical problems — which are significant — in its current state, StarDrive is a collection of neat systems and cool ideas that fail to form a cohesive game.

I’d hesitate to spend the full £24.99 on this game – not right now anyway. Wait for a better discount, or wait until they’ve made some improvements to it. As it stands, there are bigger and better titles to be excited about.

When we first covered StarDrive not too long ago – we said that it had potential but that it needed some work. That’s still the case, unfortunately. At the time of writing, StarDrive is an enjoyable game, a game with potential, but it’s also a game...

A word I use sometimes to describe a gameplay experience is 'solid.' What I mean by this is that the experience was well crafted, both in design and implementation. If a game is not solid, then that could imply a number of things. In this case it implies...